Excavators

Tracing its roots back to brothers Vern and Wilbur Schield’s original prototype manufactured in 1946, the Bantam, or more properly the model C-35 cable excavator, was an astonishingly popular machine by the standard of the day selling over 15,000 units. This figure is even more remarkable when one considers the amount of competition...

After years of planning and testing in secrecy, Caterpillar finally unveiled its first hydraulic excavator a fair bit later than a lot of the competition. By Richard Campbell
Caterpillar’s first hydraulic excavator, the model 225, was launched in 1972 after a lengthy testing period.
Caterpillar was quite a late entrant into the...

Classic Machines: Wabco’s 229F scraper. Fresh out of the Peroria factory, a brand new Wabco C229F gets the once over from a proud employee. The design of the 229 was very rugged, as can be soon from the massive gooseneck assembly. The non-muffled GM 8V-71 can be easily seen under the hood. A fine looking machine indeed. #Wabco #scrapers #classicmachines #contractormagazine ... See MoreSee Less

The excavator we saw performing at the Transdiesel product launch event was built in Volvo's Korean factory and had been in the country a fortnight. This is the largest crawler excavator in the company's range: at the time of writing it's the sole EC950E in New Zealand. More EC950Es will inevitably follow, but there's something special about watching a unique machine. [ 121 more words ]

Restoring six SH1 bridges damaged in the Kaikoura quake involved a very complex heavy haulage programme to get over 100 concrete beams from the North Island to the South in a few short months. By Mary Searle Bell. IN LATE 2016, a 7.8 magnitude earthquake rocked Kaikoura, devastating the landscape. State Highway 1 between Seddon and Cheviot was badly damaged – the NZ Transport Agency estimated that close to one million cubic metres of rock and debris fell onto the road and adjacent railway line. [ 990 more words ]

Classic scrapers: The Cat 633 elevating scraper Sitting quietly in a grassy paddock awaiting its next job, this 633 is in great shape for a machine 46 years old. Major add-on is the aftermarket ROPS, mandatory on US motorscrapers since the 1960s. #caterpillar #heayequipment #heavyiron #heavymachinery #scrapers #classicmachines ... See MoreSee Less